*Nitsuj is in the car driving back from Meijer with Mira and Yin-Yang*
(Mira): So just out of curiosity, what are you going with the Equestria movie Nitsuj?
(Nitsuj): Nothing.
(Yin-Yang): Well you gotta do something with it, you can’t just ignore it.
(Nitsuj): Yes I can. As long as nobody knows I have it and there’s no demand to review it, this is just an isolated event that can be ignored.
(Mira): I don’t think that’s going to work.
(Nitsuj): What the hell?
*As Nitsuj pulls up to his driveway he and the others are shocked to see a mob of people on his lawn with signs demanding that he review the latest Equestria movie*
(Isis): Look, for the last time, Nitsuj is out and is not going to review the Equestria movie! Now get off our property before I incorporate AI law.
(Little boy): Hey look! There’s Nitsuj right now!
*The crowd cheers and slowly surrounds Nitsuj as he gets out of his car to greet the crowd*
(Nitsuj): Umm excuse me, but, what are you guys doing here?
(Mature woman): We were told that you were going to review the latest Equestria movie.
*Nitsuj hesitates to answer the question as he didn’t feel like reviewing the movie. But after seeing the look of anticipation and excitement on everyone’s face he knew he wouldn’t have a choice in the matter and knew that if he refused the crowd would soon erupt into a riot*
(Nitsuj): *Deep breath* Crap. Alright, I’ll review the latest Equestria movie.
*Crowd cheers*
(Nitsuj): Now head home. The AI girls will be released in 5 minutes. By remaining on this lawn after 5 minutes you are agreeing not to sue for whatever happens to you.
*The crowd slowly begins to disburse as Nitsuj heads inside and gets ready for the review*
(Nitsuj): Well just when you thought the Equestria series was done, Hasbro decided that there’s still profit to be made from this series so they made another movie. Coming out to past October, The Legend of Everfree is the fourth installment of the Equestria series and once again they got new writers for this movie. This time instead of one new writer we get two new writers, Kristine Songco and Joanna Lewis. New writers to the show but also worked together and wrote a few episodes for T.U.F.F. Puppy and The Fairy Oddparents (this is both a good thing and a bad thing). Let’s see what happens next for our Equestria girls. This is the Legend of Everfree.
The movie starts off with Twilight (not the Equestria one but the Earth one) having a nightmare about Midnight Sparkle (really? That’s what we’re calling her? Okay) returning and killing all her friends (scene here: //youtu.be/-2hRkLKqhgk?t=10s, damn movie! That’s. . .pretty dark. I know it’s a nightmare and all but still this is how you’re starting the movie, with your main characters getting killed?). She wakes up from the nightmare where we see she and the others are on a bus heading for Camp Everfree for a class field trip (a camping trip?! I’m out. I do not do camping. *Nitsuj gets up and walks out of his room where someone throws a rock through his window with a paper attached to it. Nitsuj picks up the rock and reads the paper where it says he is ordered by court to review all Equestria girl movies. Failure to comply with this order will result in Nitsuj of Project Nitsuj being labeled a hater of Bronies and anyone a part of the Brony Community and will be asked to pay a fine of up to $250,000 for damages he may have caused to the Brony Community. Signed and ordered by the honorable Judge Bartholomew Sopa* Fuck. *Nitsuj goes back to his room to resume the review* The things I do for love). So the credits roll where we get our first song of the movie “Legend of Everfree” which definitely captures that camp atmosphere the movie is trying to create while adding that sense of magic and wonderment the series is known for (scene here: //youtu.be/zGPv2KvNX5M). Once they arrive at the camp they meet their camp directors Gloriosa and her brother Timber (who seem to have a bit of tension between each other) where they say they’re gonna make this the best camping trip ever (I highly doubt that) and say that they’re all free to do whatever they want (oh God no, we are not turning this place into Woodstock). We see Timber and Twilight hit it off with each other (and give them credit Timber has more personality than Flash. He can be funny, smart, charming, and quick on his feet. Which is much more than I can say for Flash who became forgetful by the second movie) and before going to their tents a guy by the name of Filthy Rich (oh for God’s sake who names their child that? I haven’t seen a name this shameful and convoluted since Richie Rich) who seems to be interested in the camp. They all go to their tents where Twilight and Sunset Shimmer are sharing a tent with each other and we discover that Twilight also has magic powers which freaks her out because she believes this is all being done by Midnight Sparkle and begs Sunset Shimmer not to tell the others about this which she agrees to do.
They go to the docks where they see the docks is in poor maintenance (a big safety hazard if I do say so myself) and the students decide to fix that up as their gift to the camp. They do a good job fixing it up while also having fun and that night when they sit around the campfire and tell ghost stories Timber tells them the story Gaia Everfree (who looks like what would happen if Poison Ivy and the Banshee had a baby) the evil spirit who haunts the camp grounds claiming it for herself. This manages to spook everyone with some believing the story is real (with everything that’s happened this year I’ll believe anything). The next morning Twilight subconsciously uses her powers to levitate her bed scary her (you can’t run away from the magic Twilight). Sunset Shimmer tries to talk to her about this (it’s time you learned about the wands and the castings) but Twilight doesn’t want to because in her mind she’ll never be able to control her magic. Her doubts escalate even more when a boat crashes into the docks and she believes she caused it. This causes her to run off into the forest where she sings about her problems (because that’s what a normal person does. Sing about their problems instead of talking about them with others). The song is alright, but totally pointless in my opinion. All she’s singing about is her fears of Midnight Sparkle still being inside her which they addressed at the beginning of the movie and in earlier multiple scenes so this song isn’t really adding anything new (scene here: //youtu.be/ThmsgBxqLsU). After the song she bumps into Timber and they exchange some friendly banter with each other while also flirting with each other (just kiss already and get it over with). They go back to the camp and join the others at the rock climbing area where strange things continue to happen again and the mane 6 (or 7 if you count Sunset Shimmer) discover that they have new powers. Rarity became a waterbender, Applejack became Supergirl, Pinkie Pie can make things explode (why would you give the hyperactive one such a dangerous power? It’s like giving a kid a baseball bat in an antique store), Fluttershy can talk and understand animals (hey her wish finally came true), and Rainbow Dash became the Flash (Rainbow Flash). As for Sunset Shimmer it’s jumping ahead a little bit but she can read the thoughts of others by touching them (Martian Hunter powers. Miss Sunset Hunter). They come to the conclusion that something in the camp is giving them all new powers but before they can dive deeper into this Gloriosa shows up with towels and new clothes for Applejack and Timber comes in to tell her that Filthy Rich is back (again, who names their child that?). The group decides to put this whole magic thing on hold and try to enjoy to rest of their camping trip. That night, Twilight tries to run away (why does everybody try to run away instead of talk about their problems like normal people?) but Sunset Shimmer catches her and after touching her finally figures out that Twilight is worried about Midnight Sparkle still being a part of her and the two finally talk where Sunset Shimmer says she knows what she’s going through (I’ve got nothing, this is all true) and tells her that she and the others can help but only if she stops running away (yes, please). This makes Twilight feel better and she agrees to stay however she doesn’t want to be around the others until they figure out this magic thing. After their talk they run into Timber in the woods with an axe (okay I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that this is suspicious) which makes Sunset Shimmer become suspicious of him and she starts to believe that he’s Gaia Everfree trying to scare everyone away so that his sister will be forced to sell the camp and he can finally move to the city (and go to the mall like he’s always wanted).
The next day the mane 7 are being cautious with what they do now that they’ve discovered their new powers until Sunset Shimmer comes along and tells them they can’t just ignore their powers and that they should instead embrace them (yes, you can become the Equestria League. I’ve already got the first series thought out and I’m starting to work on adding you to the new 52 series or the Marvel Universe, I haven’t decided yet but I am leading more towards the Marvel Universe. They are more kid friendly) believing that these new powers could help out the camp. This leads us to our next song which I have to admit is pretty good (even if it sounds similar to Let it Go from Frozen. Scene here: //youtu.be/f0Km-55sN3E, tell me you don’t hear it?). After the song they manage to fix up the dock (if only singing could solve all the problems of the world) and Sunset Shimmer rushes off to find Twilight hoping to show her all the good work they’ve done where she overhears Timber and Gloriosa arguing with each other (they’re siblings, what else is new?). Timber wants Gloriosa to sell the camp to Filthy Rich and stop stressing herself out trying to do everything (yeah does anybody else find it odd that this camp is only run by two people? No wonder this place is failing. When you don’t have money to pay for a staff you know you’re in deep shit). Gloriosa of course doesn’t listen to him and walks out. Sunset Shimmer than runs into Flash (oh this guy again. You guys are dead set on trying to make this guy meaningful aren’t you?) where he notices that Sunset Shimmer is worried about something so she tells him everything where he doesn’t get what’s going on (of course not, you’re a guy. Hell, even I get what’s going on and I don’t care. Just find a guy/girl you like and start dating already. I wanna see where this leads) but he does tell her that Twilight is lucky to have a friend like her and that he’s definitely noticed the changed in Sunset Shimmer and wonders if they can start over as friends (scene here: //youtu.be/FjLknTe2POA). She follows Timber to a rock quarry and calls Twilight over where they enter the quarry to see it’s filled with Equestrian magic (okay seriously Equestria stop sending your crap over to our world. We’ve got enough problems as it is) and we discover the truth about Gaia Evergreen. First off, Timber is innocent, he has nothing to do with all the accidents that have been happening so far it’s all Gloriosa’s fault. Timber made up the story of Gaia in order to protect Gloriosa who has been using Equestrian magic around camp which she got from the quarry. The only problem is whenever she uses the magic it causes a problem somewhere else within the camp indicating she doesn’t know how to control that magic. All this time Timber has been trying to get her to stop but she refuses to listen to him as well as Sunset Shimmer and Twilight (trust me lady. If there’s one thing these two know it’s how dangerous that magic is). Gloriosa grabs the remaining gems (or genos as they’re calling them) and transforms into Gaia Everfree in an attempt to save the camp (scene here: //youtu.be/E4IuHpS3-PM). She goes to the docks where she destroys it (oh come on~, you’ve gotta be kidding me!?) and tells everyone how Filthy Rich wants to turn this place into a day spa which she won’t allow and goes all mother nature on us trapping everyone in the camp while singing her song (which I find amusing. It has that villainous sound to it yet she sings it in a not so menacing way which reflects her mindset. Her desire to save the camp that’s been in her family for years is admirable and the right thing to do. However, the way she’s trying to save it is wrong but in her mind what she’s doing is right and she’s gonna follow through with it no matter what anyone says. Scene here: //youtu.be/cbwJyXnlMes). The mane 5 (Gloriosa broke up the band) spring into action and start saving everyone while trying to find a way out (scene here: //youtu.be/nX89nEt9lsM. Guys, just start a fire). Sunset Shimmer and Twilight make it back into the camp (hey the band is back together) where Gloriosa attacks them (this is why the camp is being closed down, you keep trying to kill everyone). Sunset Shimmer tells Twilight to embrace her magic but she’s still afraid to do it (why are still afraid? You moved a bunch of rocks and thorns no problem. You got this. You’ve gotta learn to love yourself) but everyone says that won’t happen and that they’ll be there for her. With the help of her friends Twilight embraces the magic and has complete control of it. She manages to save everyone from the thorns and the genos around Gloriosa’s neck go to each of the mane 7 where they transform into magical girls (somebody’s been watching too much Sailor Moon) restoring the camp and everything (scene here: //youtu.be/7k4prmmb4xk, well that was anti-climactic. Why do these movies always botch the climax? You have a good setup and characters but when it’s time for the climax you blow it). With the storm passing Gloriosa apologizes for everything she’s done and everyone gets to work saving the camp from Filthy Rich giving us our final song of the movie which in all honesty is the best song (scene here: //youtu.be/8nu1UIWptCk). After things wrap up nicely, Twilight and Timber almost kiss but Gloriosa stops them (scene here: //youtu.be/I_3jD3LD0iE, fuck you Gloriosa. You managed to live up to your title of villain in the movie) and they all decide to keep the genos. At the end Sunset Shimmer wonders where this magic came from, how it got here and we end with a shot of the school where we see magic leaking out through a crack in the portal (the mystery goes on).
Final Thoughts
So that was the Legend of Everfree and it’s obviously build up to something bigger down the road. It’s alright but it really doesn’t add anything new to the series and is just repeating what they’ve already done in the last movies. The main villain is a character who has no idea how to use the magic and allows that magic to control her. You’ve done this. Twice already. Thrice if you count this one. At this point it’s pretty lazy, boring, and cliché. Try something different. The characters remain the same so no develop on their part outside of getting new powers. I did like the stuff with Twilight being worried about Midnight Sparkle. I’m glad they didn’t skip over the guilt or fear she has like they did with Sunset Shimmer and I do like how it’s Sunset Shimmer trying to help her move on pass this problem as she herself dealt with it in the past. It seems fitting and works out great here. I also like the romance Twilight has going with Timber. He’s definitely a more interesting character than Flash and a step in the right direction. Speaking of Flash it seems like the series is trying to build up his relationship with Sunset Shimmer again which I’m open to it. An old couple getting back together with the one who caused all the problems in the first place realizing their mistakes and changing for the better is a good story but can we please do something about Flash’s personality. Either do something with him or drop him. The animation is the same as the other movies and as for the songs they’re decent but I think the songs in the other movies are better. Besides the last song I didn’t really care for the other songs this movie had. As I said before this movie’s basic plot is similar to the past movies which is a disappoint for me as I was expecting something new from these movies so I do hope whatever they’re building up to delivers on something amazing.
Is it better than the previous movies
Honestly speaking this is probably the weakest movie out of all of them so far. It’s not a bad movie but it adds nothing new to the series, has a story similar to 2 of the previous movies, and doesn’t really develop it’s characters as it could.
Final Score
The final score for Legend of Everfree is a 5.5/10. It’s a weak movie but not awful. From what I’ve heard there’s going to be a fifth movie which will serve as the final part to the series. This movie was only the build up for it and it’ll be interesting to see what they do. And by court order I’ll be there to see it and review it. Until that day, thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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